Effect of adding steam-exploded wood flour to thermoplastic polymer/wood composite

The effect of steam-exploded wood flour (SE) added to wood flour/plastic composite was examined using SE from beech, Japanese cedar, and red meranti and three kinds of thermoplastic polymer: polymethylmethacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, and polystyrene. Addition of SE increased the fracture strength and water resistance of the composite board to an extent dependent on the polymer species and the composition of wood/SE/polymer. However, water resistance decreased with the increasing proportion of SE when SE meranti was added. Effects of the wood species of SE on the properties of resulting board were small. An increased moisture content of wood flour or SE (or both) increased the variation of board performance.     

Composites of wood andtrans-1,4-isoprene rubber 1: Mechanical, physical, and flow behavior

The modification oftrans-1,4-isoprene rubber (TIR) with maleic anhydride (MAH) was conducted in a kneader at 150°C, 30–70 rpm, for 10 min without using peroxide. The resultant MAH-modified TIR (MTIR) was then evaluated as a compatibilizer for TIR-wood flour (WF) composites. A control composite composed of TIR and WF only was also prepared. The presence of WF in the TIR-WF composite worsened the tensile and some physical properties. The addition of 5% MTIR as a compatibilizer to the whole composite improved the mechanical and the physical properties and increased the flow temperature and the melt viscosity. The improved composite had a 2.5 times increase in tensile strength and absorbed considerably less water than did the control composite. The SEM micrograph proved that interaction and adhesion between TIR and WF could be improved by the MTIR compatibilizer. The composites of TIR-MTIR-WF melts were of pseudoplastic nature, and their flows obeyed the Ostwald de Waele power law equation.     

Effect of the lateral growth rate on wood properties in fast-growing hardwood species

We investigated the feasibility of using several fast-growing tropical or subtropical hardwood species for timber production by measuring key wood qualities in relationship to the high rates of lateral growth. The trees tested were sampled from even-aged plantations of Acacia mangium, A. auriculiformis, hybrid Acacia (A. mangium × A. auriculiformis), Eucalyptus grandis, E. globulus, and Paraserianthes falcataria (Solomon and Java origin) that had already reached commercial harvesting age. The released strain of the surface growth stress (RS), xylem density (XD), microfibril angle (MFA), and fiber length (FL) were measured at the outermost part of the xylem at breast height in each tree. Results were then compared to the lateral growth rate (radius/age) at breast height, which provides a relative indicator of the amount of tree growth per year. Our findings indicated that RS was constant, regardless of lateral growth rate in each species. Similar results were observed for XD, MFA, and FL, with a few exceptions, suggesting that high growth rates do not intrinsically affect the wood properties of fast-growing tropical or subtropical species that have reached harvesting age. However, special attention must be paid to patterns of xylem maturation when developing plantations of such species.     

Effect of growth rate on wood specific gravity and selected mechanical properties in individual species from distinct wood categories

Summary This study examined the relationships of wood specific gravity and selected mechanical properties (MOR, MOE and Cmax) with growth rate in 16 timber species from four distinct wood categories: 1) first softwood category (FSC); 2) second softwood category (SSC); 3) diffuse-porous wood category (DPC); and 4) ring-porous wood category (RPC). And genetic, silvicultural and environmental influence on the relationships was briefly discussed. Statistical results show that the relationships of specific gravity and the mechanical properties with growth rate vary remarkably with both the wood property and the wood category. In general, the mechanical properties in the FSC species decrease remarkably with increasing growth rate, while they appear to be less influenced in the SSC species. Compared with the softwoods studied, the physico-mechanical properties in the hardwoods studied are remarkably less influenced. In the DPC species, growth rate generally has very a little influence on both specific gravity and the mechanical properties. In the RPC species, the physico-mechanical properties appear not to decrease with increasing growth rate, and in some species they even tend to increase. Among the three mechanical properties studied, MOE is remarkably less influenced by growth rate than MOR and Cmax. Compared with specific gravity, however, the mechanical properties are generally more influenced by growth rate. Therefore, the impact of growth rate on wood mechanical properties in a species can not be estimated exactly through the relationship of wood specific gravity with growth rate. Path analysis reveals that growth rate has a large effect on the mechanical properties which can be accounted for by the affected specific gravity. In addition to this indirect effect through specific gravity, growth rate still has an additional effect on the mechanical properties which can not be explained by specific gravity. In the SFC species, such effect is significant, and this, to a lesser extent, applies to the DPC species. However, this effect is not remarkable in the SSC species and may be negligible in the RPC species.     

Variations in physical and mechanical properties between tension and opposite wood from three tropical rainforest species

Growth strains were measured in situ in nine trees of three species from a French Guiana tropical rainforest in a clearly active verticality restoration process. The aim was to detect tension wood within the samples. Wood specimens were cut in the vicinity of the growth strain measurements in order to determine the microfibril angle and some mechanical and physical properties. As suspected, tensile growth strain was much higher in tension wood zones, as shown by the slightly higher longitudinal modulus of elasticity. Conversely, tension wood showed reduced compression strength. Longitudinal shrinkage was much higher in tension wood than in opposite wood. Clear relationships between the microfibril angle and longitudinal properties were noted in comparison (i) with those observed in gymnosperm compression wood and (ii) with expected relationships from the organization of wood fibres cell wall structure.     

Selected physical and mechanical properties of the Chilean wood species roble,lingue, manio and alerce

Abstract

Data sets with mechanical and physical properties of wood species can aid the recognition of biomechanical correlations, and they can also be valuable tools to assist decision making regarding the practical industrial employment of the species. However, such data sets are still lacking for many species, particularly non-European and non-North-American species. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine the mechanical properties of four Chilean species (the softwoods alerce and manio, and the hardwoods lingue and roble), including the three Young's moduli and the three shear moduli. Dynamic methods were applied as well as static ones. The results suggest that Brinell hardness, compression strength and Young's moduli are clearly correlated with the density and can partly be related to anatomical details. Since the investigated species cover only a fraction of the Chilean species that are suitable for construction purposes, for example, further future examination of relevant species would be beneficial for basic research and industry.     

A review of wood thermal pretreatments to improve wood composite properties

The objective of this paper is to review the published literature on improving properties of wood composites through thermal pretreatment of wood. Thermal pretreatment has been conducted in moist environments using hot water or steam at temperatures up to 180 and 230 °C, respectively, or in dry environments using inert gases at temperatures up to 240 °C. In these conditions, hemicelluloses are removed, crystallinity index of cellulose is increased, and cellulose degree of polymerization is reduced, while lignin is not considerably affected. Thermally modified wood has been used to manufacture wood–plastic composites, particleboard, oriented strand board, binderless panels, fiberboard, waferboard, and flakeboard. Thermal pretreatment considerably reduced water absorption and thickness swelling of wood composites, which has been attributed mainly to the removal of hemicelluloses. Mechanical properties have been increased or sometimes reduced, depending on the product and the conditions of the pretreatment. Thermal pretreatment has also shown to improve the resistance of composites to decay.     

Surface properties of wood in physical and sensory aspects

Summary This paper deals with the relationships among the physical, anatomical and psychological properties of wood surfaces which play an important role in end-uses. Visual and tactile impressions of wood surfaces are partially governed by the surface profile, and were expressed in terms of roughness values. Sensory warmth of wood surfaces and thermal behavior at the hand/wood interface were measured when the surface was brought into contact with a hand. The warmth is highly correlated to the thermal conductivity of wood and to heat flow rate across the hand/wood interface. Resilience of balls with various rigidities impacting on wood surfaces was investigated in relation to hardness. It is suggested that hardness and resilience are governed by different mechanisms.This paper was presented at the 37th Annual Meeting of the Forest Products Research Society, 1983, Norfolk, Va., USA     

High-temperature mechanical properties and thermal recovery of balsa wood

This article presents an experimental study into thermal softening and thermal recovery of the compression strength properties of structural balsa wood (Ochroma pyramidale). Balsa is a core material used in sandwich composite structures for applications where fire is an ever-present risk, such as ships and buildings. This article investigates the thermal softening response of balsa with increasing temperature, and the thermal recovery behavior when softened balsa is cooled following heating. Exposure to elevated temperatures was limited to a short time (15 min), representative of a fire or postfire scenario. The compression strength of balsa decreased progressively with increasing temperature from 20° to 250°C. The degradation rates in the strength properties over this temperature range were similar in the axial and radial directions of the balsa grains. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed only small mass losses (<2%) in this temperature range. Environmental scanning electron microscopy showed minor physical changes to the wood grain structure from 190° to 250°C, with holes beginning to form in the cell wall at 250°C. The reduction in compression properties is attributed mostly to thermal viscous softening of the hemicellulose and lignin in the cell walls. Post-heating tests revealed that thermal softening up to 250°C is fully reversible when balsa is cooled to room temperature. When balsa is heated to 250°C or higher, the post-heating strength properties are reduced significantly by decomposition processes of all wood constituents, which irreversibly degrade the wood microstructure. This study revealed that the balsa core in sandwich composite structures must remain below 200°–250°C when exposed to fire to avoid permanent heat damage.     

人工林日本落叶松木材物理力学性质的研究

通过试验和统计分析的方法，研究了人工林日本落叶松木材的物理力学性质及其与密度与主要力学强度的相互关系。结果表明；人工林日本落叶松硬度和主要力学强度适中，与长白落叶松和兴安落叶松相比，日本落叶松结构相对均匀，弦径干缩差异性小，可满足各种木制品的生产要求。     

树龄对日本落叶松木材物理力学性质的影响

选取日本落叶松为试验材料,开展不同树龄日本落叶松物理力学性质的比较研究.结果表明:43年生、30年生和17年生日本落叶松木材气干密度分别为0.607,0.567和0.507 g/cm3,气干体积干缩率分别为7.7％,7.7％和7.1％;全干到气干体积湿胀率分别为5.1％,4.9％和4.5％;抗弯弹性模量分别为17.527,16.775和12.510 GPa,抗弯强度分别为121.1,110.3和90.9 MPa,顺纹抗压强度分别为56.8,51.8和44.0 MPa.随着树龄增大,日本落叶松木材密度、顺纹抗压强度、抗弯强度和抗弯弹性模量等各项物理力学性能指标提高,差异干缩逐渐变小.日本落叶松木材的气干密度与抗弯弹性模量、抗弯强度、顺纹抗压强度呈线性正相关,相关系数分别为0.760,0.816和0.900.     

Comparison of physical and mechanical properties of tension and opposite wood from ten tropical rainforest trees from different species

On 10 trees from 10 species of French Guyana tropical rainforest in a clear active process of restoring verticality growth strains were measured in situ in order to determine the occurrence of tension wood within samples. Wood specimens were cut in the vicinity of the growth strains measurements in order to measure some mechanical and physical properties. As suspected, tensile growth strains was very much higher in tension wood zone, because longitudinal modulus of elasticity was slightly higher. Longitudinal shrinkage was also much higher in tension wood than in opposite wood.     

Differences in wood properties between juvenile wood and mature wood in 10 species grown in China

 This study examined the intrinsic differences in various wood properties between juvenile wood and mature wood in 10 major reforestation species in China. Comparisons between juvenile wood and mature wood were made in both plantation- and naturally-grown trees. Considerable differences in most wood properties were found both between plantation-grown juvenile wood and mature wood, and between naturally-grown juvenile wood and mature wood. This suggests that wood properties of plantation-grown trees, to a large extent, depends on their juvenile wood contents, and can thus be manipulated effectively through rotation age. In general, the longer the rotation age, the lower the juvenile wood content, and the stronger the mechanical properties of the plantation-grown woods. However, the differences between juvenile wood and mature wood vary with wood properties and species. In general, juvenile wood and mature wood have less difference in chemical composition than in anatomical and physico-mechanical properties. Compared to the softwoods studied, the hardwoods appear to have less difference between juvenile wood and mature wood. Received 25 June 1999     

Effect of severe thermal treatment on spruce and beech wood lignins

? The structure, proportion and mode of assembly of lignin, celluloses and hemicelluloses have marked effects on the reaction mechanisms during thermal treatment and therefore have a strong influence on the quality of the final product. The effect of treatment conditions, including severe conditions (up to 553 K) and treatment duration (up to 8 h) on the structure of native spruce and beech lignins was studied.

? Lignin content was determined by the Klason method and lignin structure was evaluated by thioacidolysis.

? The results highlighted the strong reactivity of the native spruce and beech lignins towards severe heat treatments. The distinct susceptibility of syringyl (S) and guaiacyl (G) units towards thermal treatment is confirmed by comparing the data for beech and spruce samples. The most severe treatment of spruce wood (280 °C) induced a dramatic enrichment in lignin content together with the almost complete disappearance of G lignin units, whereas a more moderate treatment substantially changed lignin structure by degradation reactions that affect the p-hydroxyphenyl (H) and G lignin units similarly.

? Thioacidolysis revealed that the thermal treatment induces the appearance of vinyl ether structures in spruce lignins. The decreased yield of the G and S thioacidolysis monomers reflects the progressive disappearance of G and S lignin units only involved in β-O-4 bonds and the formation of condensed linkages in proportions related to treatment severity. In severe conditions, β-O-4 linked S units are more degraded than their G homologues.

     

STUDIES ON PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF DAHURIAN LARCH-WOOD OF TWO WOOD COLOURS

Dahurian1arch[Larixgmelini(Rupr.)Rupr.jisamaintimbertreespe-ciesinDaxing'anLingForestRegion,and'itisalsoafast-growingandregenerationtreeinNorthChina-Becauseitsecologicalamplitudeisverywild,therearemanyva-riabletypesinvarioushabitats.Themostsignificativetypes,whichhavebeenfoundrecentlyininvestigation,aretheredwoodandwhitewood.Theformerisfromyellow-browntored-brown,andthelat-tCrisfrompaleyellowtowhite.Theyaresimilarto'Redscotchpine#and'Whitescotchpine#.Theparametersofwoodcol-ourandphysico-…     

Thermoplastic flow behavior of steamed wood flour under heat and compression

In this study the thermoplastic flow behavior of steamed wood flour was investigated. First it was demonstrated that steamed Japanese beech flour flowed out of the nozzle under compression at high temperature in a thermal flow test with a capillary rheometer. The effects of the steaming temperature, steaming time, compressive pressure, and moisture content of wood flour on the thermal flow temperature were examined. It was shown that the higher the steaming temperature and compressive pressure, the lower the thermal flow temperature. Also, the thermal flow temperature of the sample steamed at 200°C for 20 min became lowest and increasingly higher over time. Furthermore, the thermal flow temperature became linearly low with increasing moisture content of the sample under 15%, whereas it became essentially constant over 15%. It is clarified that compressive pressure and moisture content as well as the steaming conditions profoundly affect the thermoplastic flow behavior of steamed wood flour.     

Physical properties of two tropical wood species from Mozambique

Abstract

The aim of this study was to reveal some important physical properties of two lesser used wood species from Mozambique. Density of wood, green moisture content (MC), shrinkage, swelling, sorption–desorption behaviour and quantitative colour analyses were carried out to facilitate the potential use of Icuria dunensis (ncurri) and Pseudolachnostylis maprounaefolia (ntholo). The study found that the average densities at 12% MC were 907.1 kg m^?3 for ncurri and 1023.4 kg m^?3 for ntholo. The average values of green MC were 31.4% for ncurri and 39.2% for ntholo. Ncurri and ntholo wood showed low coefficients of anisotropy for heartwood, 1.3 and 1.4, respectively. The colour measurements described the patterns of radial and longitudinal variations in wood colour. In conclusion, ntholo and ncurri are characterized by high density and dimensional stability. Ntholo can be used where small dimensional changes are required, e.g. in joinery, flooring and furniture.     

The effect of compression and incision on wood veneer and plywood physical and mechanical properties

ABSTRACT

Drying takes the largest share of energy in plywood production, and varying moisture content of veneers necessitates re-drying that often leads to over-dry veneers with deactivated surfaces, which may promote imperfect bonding. In order to decrease the drying time, reduce the need for re-drying of veneers, and improve the quality of plywood, birch and spruce veneers were subjected to pre-treatment by cold compression, incision, or a combination of the two. The effects of pre-treatment on the veneer and plywood quality were assessed by standard tests. Compression had a beneficial effect on water removal of the wettest veneers (spruce sapwood (SW) and birch), but some thickness reduction was observed in the veneers as well as the finished birch plywood. Compression led to thickness reduction of spruce veneers, but had no effect on SW plywood thickness likely due to higher viscoelasticity. Both compression and the combination of incising and compression levelled the moisture variation within the compressed stacks. Incision improved the modulus of elasticity of birch plywood, shear strength of SW plywood, and both bending and shear strengths of heartwood plywood. Higher surface pressure decreased the drying time of spruce SW in both plain compression and combined incision and compression pre-treatment.     

不同湿热处理工艺对云杉板材吸湿性能的影响

分别采用高温湿热处理和二次干燥湿热工艺对钢琴用云杉干板材进行再处理。通过对两种宽、窄年轮的云杉板材吸湿性的研究发现:经过高温湿热处理和二次干燥湿热处理均能有效降低试材的吸湿性能,且随着处理温度升高,吸湿性降低的幅度增大,尺寸稳定性更好。其中,经过140℃、8h高温热处理的云杉弦向尺寸变化率为1.74%,径向尺寸变化率为1.02%,吸湿性能最接近AI材的水平。